Salting-trough.



G. A. WILLIAMS.

SALTiNG TROUGH.

APPLICATION FILED D130. 26, 1912.

Patented Aug-19,1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

CHESTER A. WILLIAMS, OF BLAIR, ILLINOIS.

SALTI'NG-TROUGH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHEsTER A.VILLIABIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Blair, in the county of Clay and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvement-s in Salting-Troughs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in troughs for use in salting stock, of that general type wherein provision is made for keeping the trough normally closed in order that the salt may not be affected by inclement weather and may not absorb too great a quantity of moisture, and for automatically opening the trough upon the near approach of an animal thereto. These salting troughs are left out in the open and usually embody amovable cover, a movable foot-board which is actuated by the animal stepping thereon, and connections between the foot board and the cover to open and close the latter consequent to downward and upward movements of the foot board.

The present invention embodies improve.- ments in the arrangement of the cover and in the specific connections between the cover and the foot board, with the objects in View of providing a salting trough which may be simply and economically constructed, in which the parts will not be liable to undue wear or be substantially afiected by rough usage, in which an efficient closure of the body of the trough is provided for, and in which the cover, when in open position, acts as a guard plate to prevent an animal having access to the trough from the rear and to prevent salt from being thrown over the back wall of the trough.

An embodiment of the invention is illus trated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved trough; and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The trough per se is shown at 1, and may be of any ordinary or approved form, except that it is preferred to have the upper faces of its side walls arranged on a slight forward and downward inclination, as at 2.

The support for the trough 1 and for the other associated parts, to be hereafter referred to, comprises a suitable frame work designated by the numeral 3 and including Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. December 26, 1912.

.2 of the side walls of said trough.

Patented Aug. 19, "1913.

Serial No. 738,705.

vertical side frames which project some distance in front of the trough 1 and furnish support for a foot board 4. The foot board 4 is pivotally movable and is connected at its front edge, for example, by hinges 5 to adjacent bars of the frame 3. The down,- ward movement-s of the foot board are effected by the animal about 'to use the trough, and the upward movements of said foot board are effected by springs 6 which are preferably arranged under the foot board and near the inner or rear edge thereof.

The trough 1 is normally closed by a cover plate 7 which, in its opening and closing action, has slidable and pivotal components of movement. The cover plate 7 is opened and closed by connections from the foot board 4, in accordance with the respective downward and upward movement of said foot board. These connections are duplicated at each side of the frame 3 and in end of said lever to the rear end of the foot board 4, a lever 11 which connects the rear end of said lever 8 to the rear end of the plate 7, and a radius link 12 which is arranged above the lever 8 and connects the lever 11 and the upper portion of the bar 9 aforesaid. The plate 7 is preferably somewhat wider than the trough 1, and its side portions ride upon the inclined upper faces to the fact that the front edge of the plate I '7 always rests upon the side walls of the trough 1, and to the fact that the levers 11, .in moving said plate, raise or lower the rear end thereof, in accordance with the direction of movement, the movement of the plate 7 hasboth slidable and pivotal components, as above set forth. In the embodiment shown, the plate 7 has, at its side,

.and adjacent the front thereof, recesses or resting uniformly on the upper faces of thewalls of said trough. When an animal steps ()wing on the board t, the weight of the animal, of course depresses the board against the influence of the springs 6, and the connections aforesaid operate to move the plate 7 rearwardly, and at the same time, to raise its rear end. This rearward movement of the plate 7 continues until the board 4L engages the base portion of the frame 3 as a support, and at such time, the plate 7 is substantially in line with the rear wall of the trough, and is in a nearly upright position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. In such position, said plate acts as a guard to prevent access to the trough from the rear thereof, and to prevent the salt from being thrown over the rear wall of the trough. lVhen the animal leaves the trough, the springs 6 restore the parts to normal position, raising the board t and closing the plate 7, through the instrumentalities described. During its closing movement, the front edge of the plate 7 rides upon the inclined faces 2 and any accumulation of dirt or salt on said inclined faces which might otherwise inter fere with the effective closure of the trough is dislodged, as is obvious. Ultimately, the plate 7 comes into the full line position shown in Fig. 2, at which time it rests uniformly on the upper faces of the walls of the trough.

It will be observed that the plate 7 is not hinged to the trough proper, but is simply pivoted between the links 11 and hangs by gravity from. the upper ends of said links, said plate always resting upon the trough and being thus, in a measure, supported thereby. This mounting of the plate is preferred because it is not liable to derangement, and because it imposes no undue weight or load upon the instrumentalities which connect the plate to the board 4, and which effect the opening and closing operations of the plate. The connections described require little power for their operation, which is reliably insured by the use of springs 6 of relatively light character. The operating parts may be exteriorly located, as shown, and hence, readily accessible for the purposes of renewal or repairs.

The mechanism embodies no special parts, nor any parts peculiarly subject to wear or derangement. For these reasons, it may be economically produced, and readily maintained in operative condition through a relatively long period of use.

"While the improvement has been described as a salting trough, it will, of course, be understood that it can beused for analogous purposes, 2'. e. as an ordinary feed trough with the object in view of maintaining the contents of the trough in good and clean condition.

Having fully described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with. a trough, of a cover plate therefor, an upwardly and downwardly movable foot board and connections for opening and closing the plate from the respective upward and downward movements of the foot board, and including pivotally mounted. plate operating elements to which the plate is pivoted at its rear end, the said elements being located at the sides of the troughs and movable in planes parallel to the planes of the side walls of the trough, and being operative to raise the rear end of the plate above the upper faces of the walls of the trough during their rearward movement and to lower the rear end of the plate during their forward movement, the front end of the plate always resting upon the sides of the trough and the plate resting uniformly upon the upper faces of the walls of the trough at the completion of the forward movement of said elements.

2. The combination with a trough and its supporting frame, of a cover plate for the trough, an upwardly and downwardly movable foot board and connections for opening and closing the plate from the respective upward and downward movements of the foot board, and including a lever pivoted to a stationary part of the frame, a link connecting the front end of the lever and the foot board, a plate operating lever connected to the rear end of said first named lever and also to the plate, and a radius link connecting said stationary frame part and said plate operating lever, so as to raise the rear end of the plate from the end walls of the trough,

while the front end of the plate slides on:

said end walls.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit-- nesses.

CHESTER A. lVILLIAhIS.

Witnesses Trrnononn Honors, ALBERT TOLLIVER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

